A procurement dispute has led to a major fallout between a public sector firm and a global technology vendor. Telecommunications Consultants India Limited (TCIL) has barred Cisco Systems from participating in its tenders for 2 years, citing alleged anti-competitive conduct linked to the Karnataka State Wide Area Network 3.0 project.
Telecommunications Consultants India Limited said the decision follows Cisco’s failure to submit mandatory pre-bid documents and a manufacturer authorisation form within stipulated timelines, despite repeated reminders. TCIL also alleged that Cisco attempted to “impose extraneous conditions” at the final stage of bid submission.
In a letter dated January 14, 2026, addressed to Trideeb Roy, MD (public sector), Cisco India & SAARC, TCIL stated that Cisco’s conduct “clearly indicates unfair, exclusionary, and anti-competitive practices, aimed at sabotaging TCIL’s participation in a public procurement process for unlawful commercial gain”.
The order effectively blacklists the Chuck Robbins-led vendor from participating in TCIL’s future tenders, bids, requests for proposals, and procurement processes for 2 years. TCIL clarified that the ban will not affect existing contracts, ongoing works, bids, or projects.
The issue arose from a tender floated by the Karnataka Centre for e-Governance to select a system integrator for KSWAN 3.0, which aims to provide statewide network connectivity for Karnataka government offices along with operations and maintenance services for 5 years. The bid submission deadline was January 14, 2026.
TCIL said it approached Cisco Systems India as early as December 18, 2025, seeking vendor support required for government procurement, including technical compliance documents, product data sheets, solution inputs, and manufacturer authorisation forms. Despite being aware of the deadline, Cisco allegedly failed to provide the documents in time. TCIL claimed that during a meeting on January 12, 2026, Cisco executives committed to sharing the documents by end of day but did not do so.
“TCIL, being faced with such an extortionist approach adopted by Cisco, via an emailed dated January 13, 2026, issued a show cause notice informing them that such an attitude… may constrain TCIL to blacklist Cisco for a period of two years,” the PSU said.
TCIL also noted that Cisco, a long-time vendor partner on projects involving the Indian Coast Guard, Air Force Network, and Punjab & Sind Bank, had never imposed such conditions earlier.
Responding to the development, a Cisco spokesperson told a technology news outlet, “As we continue to engage with Telecommunications Consultants India Limited on this matter, we remain focused on delivering industry-leading products and services to customers across India.”
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